No forceful acquisition of land for industrialisation: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today once again made it clear that there would be no forceful acquisition of land for setting up industry. Speaking at a programme here in West Midnapore district, the chief minister said, “We are against forceful acquisition of land. In West Midnapore district the Haldia Development Authority and WBIDC have land banks. We will allot land for projects from there.” Banerjee said they were coming up with an IT hub and an industrial park in Haldia. Yesterday Banerjee announced that she would visit Singapore with a business delegation to attract investments for the state.

“We have increased revenue of the state, our GSDP, growth in industrial sector is more than national average,” she said adding that the state has now become the number one in a number of projects. “From 17th rank we have come to the 1st rank in 100 days work scheme,” she said. The Trinamool Congress supremo also attacked the Centre for allotting only Rs 100 crore for ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana’. “Each state would get only Rs 3 crore, but our population is 8 crore. What will we do with that? Buy lozenge or chewing gums?,” Banerjee said adding that under a similar ‘Kanyashree’ project the state has allocated Rs 1000 crore.

The chief minister said the government was in the process of setting up 500 marketing hubs across the state through which one lakh people will get employment. “The marketing hubs will be named ‘Karma Tirtha’. Fifty of them are ready and will be inaugurated soon. The remaining ones will be completed soon,” Banerjee said. For West Midnapore district, she said, they have taken up a flood control project for which IIT Kharagpur has been asked to prepare a plan. She also criticised the previous UPA and the present NDA government saying they both have “deprived Bengal in their railway budgets”.